Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-09-15

wv III dldll oIIll LII OIuC1 " IltNt q
pocket handy to hold my cartridges, and
buckled on my revolver Good did the
same, but Sir Henry put on nothing except
his mail shirt, steel-lined cap, and a pair
of ssveldt-schoons, or soft hide shoes, his
legs being bare from the knees down His
revolver he strapped on round his middle,
outside the armored shirt
Meanwhile, Umslopogaas was mastering
the men in the square under the big tree,
and going the rounds to see that each was
properly armed, etc. At the last moment
we made one change. Finding that two of
the men who were to have gone with the
fireing parties knew little or nothing of
guns, but were good spearsmen, we took
away their rifles, supplied them with
shields and long spears of the Nasal nat
tern, and told them off to join Curtis, UNI
slopogaas, and the Askari in holding the
wide opening; it having become clear to
us that three men, however brave and
strong, were too few for the work.
CHAPTER VII. a SLAUGHTER GRIM AND
GREAT.
Then came a pause, and we stood there
in a chilly, silent darkness, waiting till the
moment came TO start. Tt was, perhaps,
the most trying time of all-that slow, slow
quarter of an hour. The minutes seemed
to drag along with leaden feet, and the
quiet, the solemn hush, that brooded over
all-big, as it were, with coming fate
was most oppressive to the spirits. I re-
member once having to get up before dawn
to see man hung, and I then went
through very similar set of sensations;
only in the present instance my feelings
were animated by that more vivid and per-
sonal element which naturally appertains
rather to the person to be operated on than
to the most sympathetic spectator The
solemn faces of the men, well aware that
the short passage of an hour would mean
for some, and perhaps all of them, the last
great passage to the unknown and obliv-
ion; the bated whispers in which they
spoke; even Sir Henry's continuous and
thoughtful examination of his woodcutter' s
AK, and the fidgety way in which Good kept
polishing his eyeglass-a1 told the same
tale of nerves stretched pretty nigh to
breaking point. Only UmsIopoSaas, lean
ing as usual upon Inkosikaasi, and taking
an occasional pinch of snuff, was to all ap-
pearance perfectly and completely I'M
moved Nothing could touch his iron
nerves.
The moon went down; for q long while
she had been getting nearer and nearer to
the horizon and now she finally sank and
left the world in darkness, save for q faint
gray tinge ii the eastern sky that palely
heralded the coming dawn.
Mr. Mackenzie stood, watch in hand, his
wife clinginG TO his arm and striving to
stif1e her Soba.
"Twenty minutes to four" he said; sit
ought to be light enough to attack at TWEEN
ty minutes past four. Captain Good had
better be moving; he will want three or
four minutes start
Good gave one final polish to his eye
glass, nodded to us in a jocular sort of way
which I could not help feeling it must
have cost him something to muster up
and, ever polite, took off his steel-lined
cap to Mrs. Mackenzie, and started for his
position at the head of the kraal, to reach
which he had to make detour by some
paths unknown to the natives.
Just then one of the boys came in and
reported that everybody in Nasal camp,
with the exception Of the two sentries who
were walking up and down in front of the
respective entrances, appeared to be fast
asleep. Then the rest of us took the road.
First came the guide, then Sir Henry, UNI
slopogaas, Wakwafi Askari, and Mr.. Mac
kenzle's two mission natives armed with
long spears and shields. I followed inn
mediately after with Alphonse and five ma
tives, all armed with guns, and Mr.. Mac
kenzie brought up the rear with the six re-
naming natives.
The cattle kraal where the Nasal were
camped lay at the foot Of the hill On which
the house stood, or, roughly speaking,
| a al rbf bI1r,6pad xardo frof., bo mis-
sion buildings. The first five hundred
yards of this distance we traversed quietly,
indeed, but at a good pace; after that we
crept on as silently as a leopard on his
prey, gliding like ghosts from bush to bush,
and from stone to stone. When had gone
little way, I CHANGED to look behind me
and saw the redoubtable Alphonse stag
gering along with white face and trembling
knees, and his rifle, which was at full cock,
pointed directly at the small of my back.
Having halted and carefully put the rifle
at Safety" we started again; and all went
well till we were within one hundred yards
Or so of the kraal, when his teeth began to
chatter in the most aggressive way
IF you don't stop that will kill you,''
whispered savagely; for the idea of hav-
ing all our natives sacrificed to a tooth
me. [ began to fear that he would betray
us, and heartily wished we had left him
behind.
But, monsieur, [ cannot help it." he
answered; 'sit is the cold'
Here was a dilemma; but fortunately I
devised a plan. In the pocket of the coat
had on was a small piece OF dirty rag that
| had used some time before to clean gun
with. "Put this in your mouth" | whis-
pered again, giving him the rag; land If l
hear another sound you are dead man. y
[ knew that that would stihe the clatter of
his worries. [ must have looked as if /
meant what I said, for he instantly obeyed
me, and proceeded with an oily corner of
rag hanging down his chin.
Then we crept on again.
At last we were within fifty yards Of the
kraal. Between Us and it was an open
space OF sloping grass, with only one mi
mosa bush and couple of tussocks Of a
sort of thistle for cover. We were still
hidden in fairly thick bush. It was begin
ming to grow light The stars had paled,
and a kind of sickly CLEAN played about
the east and was reflected on the earth.
We could see the outline of the kraal clear
ly enough, and could also make out the